| February 17, 2000 Mr. Thomas Rozek Dear Mr. Rozek: My name is Lynda Pfeffer and I have a fifteen-month-old son, Nicholas. I would like to tell you some of what we’ve gone through during the past year and what your hospital has meant to us. Nicholas was born October 14, 1998 at Good Samaritan Hospital in West Palm Beach. Just after his birth, it was immediately apparent that there were problems and he was immediately intubated. He was diagnosed with pulmonary atresia, collateral circulation and a ventricular septal defect. Nicholas was also diagnosed with Digeorge syndrome, which causes his immune system to be very compromised. Within hours of being born, Life Flight transported Nicholas to your Cardiac Intensive Care Unit. Nicholas was hospitalized here for approximately 8 months. He has had multiple surgeries and cardiac catheterizations. Our family, including our four-year-old son Ben, took up temporary residence here in Miami. My husband, who’s law firm is located in West Palm Beach, came here when he could during the week, but primarily was here on the weekends. Your daycare accepted Ben so that I could spend my days in the hospital with Nicholas. After many ups and downs, Nicholas was finally discharged to our temporary Miami home. We were fearful of being too far from the doctors who had gotten to know and understand Nicholas and the care that he required. With months of living in Miami and Nicholas’s condition stabilizing, we finally mustered up the courage to take him to our permanent home in Palm City, Florida. As I write this letter, we are once again in the CICU due to an infection. The purpose of my wanting to write you this letter is to express gratitude and appreciation to such a wonderful group of people. The physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists, and other staff members that we have come in contact with have been extraordinary. Dr. Burke, Dr. Chang, and Dr. Zahn are a wonderful team. My son would not be alive today if it were not for their skill and expertise, I also feel that I must address a special note of thanks to my everyday heroes, Dr. Elizabeth Welch, Dr. Richard Schiff, and Dr. Juan Bolivar. These are the physicians that are there on a daily basis to assess, plan, and care for Nicholas and our family. Because of Nicholas' immune deficiency and his fragile cardiac and respiratory condition, Dr. Welch made many home visits when we had concerns about his status. We always had her home, cellular and beeper number as she made herself available to us twenty-four hours a day. Dr. Schiff was also always available to us, and even went as far as offering my husband, child, and myself his guest bedroom. I have been told that we are not the first family he has done this for. He has provided many hours of counseling and emotional support. Dr. Bolivar has also always been very supportive and available for Nicholas, having taken him under his protective wing. He has meant so much to all of us. These doctors are truly "here for the children" and their families. They go "beyond the call of duty" to provide the exemplary care and support. Your institution would not be the same without them. Sincerely, Lynda Pfeffer |
| March 26, 1999 Dr. Redmond Burke Dear Dr. Burke: I’m sure you don’t remember us but we are from Littleton, NY. You operated on my son, Nathan Landry at Boston Children’s Hospital in January of 1993. Recently, while sitting in the waiting room of my doctor’s office I picked up the December issue of Reader’s Digest and was flipping through the pages when I cam across this article "Saving Ashley." As I was reading the article I soon realized it was you I was reading about. When I saw the name Dr. Redmond Burke I was astonished. I read the article with teary eyes, feeling such pain for that family and was overwhelmed by the outcome. I know you have been told this many times, but you are a very special gift, especially for families of children with heart disease. I know the outcome is not always the one we wish for, but the ones that have a chance and do survive are due to your compassion and extreme talent. I will be forever grateful for your work on Nathan. He still has a residual VSD but he was just seen by Michael Flanagan at Dartmouth Hichcock and had an excellent check up. The VSD appears to be smaller than that of his last appointment (last year). Also, there is no sign of the extra muscle tissue growing back. He does not have to go for another appointment for 2 years. That was music to my ears. I can still visualize you coming from surgery with Nathan, taking us into that room and explaining to us that your couldn’t repair the entire hole. You looked very unsettled about that but I was grateful for what you had done and had great hope that he would be o.k. and he is. I wanted you to know that. Nathan, his sister, Megan and I include you in our prayers every night as I am sure hundreds of families do!! Dr. Flanagan did tell me you moved to Miami. I always ask him how you are and he always says, "What am I chopped liver? Why doesn’t anyone ask how I am!!!" I told him it was nothing personal, but…..!! I was wondering if you could send us a picture of yourself for Nathan’s scrap book. Unfortunately, we did not take one of you while he was in Boston. We do have a couple with the nurses but none of you. We would really appreciate it. If you can’t, I would at least like to know that you received this letter. I did send you a thank you card shortly after Nathan’s surgery but never know if you actually received it. Thank you. Take care. Sincerely, Pamela Landry |
| November 7, 1995 Dr. Burke Dear Dr. Burke: Our family would like to thank you for your devotion and dedication to our son, Mark Matthew Schuknecht, during his stay at Miami Children's Hospital. My husband and I are forever indebted to you for the quality of care he received in your hands. We are truly amazed at the compassion we experienced from all of you during Mark’s stable period, surgery and recovery, and in our time of grief. Whenever we think of our firstborn son over the period that will surely encompass the remainder of our lives, we will think of all of you, how hard you worked to save him, and your kindness. Please know that these acts do not go unnoticed, even though one may be suffering from a tremendous loss. My husband and I are now attempting to make sense out of everything that has happened. It is our sincere hope that you have learned something from our son’s case that will help other babies. We are trying to stay focused on the positive things that have happened. How everyone’s prayers kept our son with us for seventeen glorious days and all the miracles we received during that time. The first time our son smiled at us and all the smiles that followed. I am enclosing a copy of the letters we wrote to our son and had read during his service and burial. Thank you for allowing me to share some of these moments with you. It is our way of healing and remembering our son, who in this lifetime truly earned his Angel wings. We are trying to raise money for the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit to show our gratitude to all of you. We would gladly donate our time in helping other families that have children with HLHS. Please keep us in mind if we can fill a need in this area. Our lives have been forever changed in the knowledge or our son and the people he has brought into our lives… Thank you for the miracle of time which allowed us the opportunity to know and love our child. Our Love and Gratitude, Susan and Mark Schuknecht |
| November 2, 1995 Dr. Redmond Burke Dear Dr. Burke: We cannot thank you and your staff enough for the quality of care that Myranda received during her stay to repair her heart defect. We were extremely impressed with the organization of the entire process, from admissions, to surgery, to intensive care, to recovery. More specifically, we would like to recognize the work of Joanne and Jane. They were instrumental in helping us relax during a stressful time. In addition, their knowledge of the various cardiac conditions and awareness of potential problems and solutions was very comforting to us. Whatever you pay them, it’s not enough. We found the supporting cardiologists, Dr. Zakheim and Zahn all very friendly, professional, and knowledgeable. Dr. Chang and his staff in the CICU provided excellent care. As we mentioned in our letter to the CEO of the hospital, South Florida is very lucky to have such a gifted individual as yourself. We will make it our business to make sure other individuals in our area with similar conditions are made aware of your presence. It should no longer be necessary to travel out of the area for pediatric cardiac surgery. Also, please feel free to use us as a reference for future patients. You can be assured that when Myranda wins her first LPGA golf tournament in the year 2016 that she will dedicate the win to you. Sincerely, Steve and Holly Tarr P.S. Myranda is doing great |